


Last Chance to Walk Away

by CthuluPanda



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Het, Implied Sexual Content, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Unresolved Sexual Tension, writing experiment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27707228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CthuluPanda/pseuds/CthuluPanda
Summary: At first, the whole thing had been very simple.Audrey had been a holier-than-thou bitch, and Mal wanted to take what was hers to prove that she was better than the pink princess. Ben had been the icing on the cake. She thought he was attractive, and he’d been wanting to try something decidedly Not Nice. She’d been available and was always good for helping with bad decisions.Things had been getting progressively more complicated ever since.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Last Chance to Walk Away

**Author's Note:**

> One-shot. There's a lot of references to events that I didn't write. Hopefully it's good enough to stand-alone.
> 
> PSA: Don't try to resolve relationship conflict with "meaningful" sex. It's unhealthy and exacerbates the problems. These characters are not handling conflict in an emotionally healthy or mature way.

_“We can’t be together, you know that right?”_

They’d been seeing each other off and on for months after he’d broken up with Audrey, and he’d decided to do something spontaneous.

Mal was the something spontaneous.

The idea that she could hang their secret meetings over Audrey’s head and in her face had tickled her fancy for a while, but one glance toward her and her grandmother at one of the many parties Belle hosted at the school, and she had felt the idea sour on her tongue. Lady Leah reminded her far too much of her own mother, the cold disappointment and scathing lack of empathy was something she didn’t really wish on anyone.

It didn’t stop her from meeting Crown Prince Benjamin out by the Enchanted Lake, in his office, or her favorite, the royal gardens. Or from enjoying the secrecy of it.

There was something to be said of playing things close to the vest.

Not that he was ever wearing one.

At first, the whole thing had been very simple.

Audrey had been a holier-than-thou bitch, and Mal wanted to take what was hers to prove that she was better than the pink princess. Ben had been the icing on the cake. She thought he was attractive, and he’d been wanting to try something decidedly Not Nice. She’d been available and was always good for helping with bad decisions.

Things had been getting progressively more complicated ever since.

Ben enjoyed spontaneity but lacked the ability to compartmentalize, and it was starting to show. Walking the halls of Auradon Prep University, Ben found himself in her company more often than not, with a flimsy excuse and a soft smile.

It was adorable, and made her heart flutter a little, and she wasn’t even aware she could get flustered by a cute boy. Harry Hook had been the only one with enough charm to make her feel anything, and even he hadn’t been able to make her blush.

Which is how she knew Ben was different. …and also dangerous.

She’d been mulling it over for days…Ben was Good. He was patient, kind, and caring. He seemed to genuinely care about his kingdom, his people….and her.

What had started off as a fun way to get revenge for a minor slight had become something she was emotionally invested in. She was here to get the wand, and if she fucked a prince along the way, it was fine. But being emotionally involved with him?

No.

That couldn’t happen, her mother would eat him alive when she got out of the barrier if she saw that Mal was attached. Ben wouldn’t stand a chance, and he deserved someone better than an Isle-girl waiting to stab in the back. He deserved someone who would look at him with the same amount of awe and amazement that she’d caught him looking at her with.

_Which is why…_

“We can’t be together, you know that right?”

He stared at her like she’d just punted the campus dog across the Swords and Shields field. Surprised and hurt, with a hint of disbelief. He scrambled from the small nest of pillows and blankets they’d been enjoying as she started gathering her clothes. She wouldn’t let this continue. She couldn’t.

“Exactly what do you call this, Mal?” He gestured to himself and the blankets that had pooled around his knees.

“A fun distraction. A way to pass the time. Corrupting the pure. Pick one.”

“That’s not funny.”

“You’re right, what’s funny is you thinking I was super attached to this,” she gestured vaguely between them, “What’s funny is that you never once thought you were being duped.” She could’ve been cruel in other ways, but breaking his heart would get him to stay away from her. This distraction had been fun until it hadn’t been, and she had heard enough of Doug talk to Evie about Ben's secret girlfriend suspicions to know they were on the brink of being discovered.

" _I think Ben's got a girlfriend." Evie had instantly perked up, royal gossip was something she'd become very invested in. She was her mother's daughter in a variety of incredibly mundane ways. Mal did her best to not attract attention and appear mildly disinterested. Luckily, Evie was more invested in the conversation than in Mal's sudden cageyness._

_"_ _He keeps sneaking off, and I know how that sounds but he's always been incredibly punctual and he's been late to class 3 times in the past week alone. He's either seeing someone or working on something, but if he was working on something Jane would know. Jane said she didn't know anything. So he's sneaking off, and I think it means he's got a secret girlfriend." Evie smiled devilishly, romantic secret trysts were her bread and butter._

_Mal tried not to be fidgety. If she put her foot down and said to leave him alone, Evie would know what was up. Doug might not understand, but Evie wasn't a fool. Mal didn't protect people from the consequences of their actions. Usually she was the one who doled out those consequences. If Mal said anything, Evie would know she was involved...and there was only one way to be involved in this scenario._

_Evie finished up her look for the day before cozying up to the poor sap who'd fallen for her._

_"Well, if he's involved with someone, we should absolutely find out who. Don't you think so?" Doug nodded, not even hearing the question, just already in agreement with whatever she'd said. She tapped him on his nose, giving him a dazzling smile before dragging him out of the room._

_Evie knew the plan just like the rest of them. If she thought she could get dirt on the prince, she would absolutely dig for it until she struck gold._

_Left alone with her panic, Mal tried to think of a valid excuse, and she found many._

_She had seduced him to get his help or credentials to get into the vault beneath the castle. She was bored and had decided to spell him for entertainment. She had been getting revenge on Audrey, and he'd been very good with...well, everything. They sounded true. Hell, they could be true. Except Mal knew they weren't._

_She hadn't realized she'd begun to look forward to her meetings with Ben. Hadn't realized he'd become important to her as more than just a pawn in the chess game her mother was expecting her to play._

_Well shit._

"I'm trying but I don't understand. I thought…"

She whirled on him, zipping up her jacket, green eyes blazing.

"What, Ben? You thought what exactly? That fucking me against a tree meant we were in love? Destined to live happily ever after? Don't be an idiot. You were a fun distraction at best, and a quiet way to get back at your perfect little ex-girlfriend at worst." She watched his expression crumple. Watched as he tried to find the lie in her words and came up short. It hurt, watching his faith in her shatter like a glass slipper.

She turned to walk away. She didn't expect him to grab her.

Ben no longer set off her survival instincts. She woke up next to him sometimes and didn't instantly scramble for a knife to hold to his throat. She wasn't prepared for him to move at all, much less try to grab hold of her. She looked up at him, mildly dazed. His eyes were dark, and she could see the light dusting of freckles across his nose. He let out a soft growl, one she felt form in his chest before it released audibly. His hair hung in his face, and he hadn't shaved in a few days. She'd mentioned she liked his scruff better once, and he hadn't shaved it completely off since.

_Fuck._

She was doomed.

He leaned closer, which shouldn't have been possible. Steamy puffs of air between them made her wish she'd been slower getting her clothes back on. His lower lip hovered so very close to hers, and she wanted to bite it. Lick the pure and good out of his mouth until no one else would want him. Mark him inside and out until he was hers alone.

"Tell me this doesn't mean anything to you," his voice was rough, the words shredding his throat as he forced them out, "Tell me you don't feel anything, Mal, and I won't stop you from walking away."

She held his gaze for a moment, weighing her options. It was foolish to let things go on...but she was damned either way. Maleficent would take him from her if she succeeded, and if she walked away, she'd be ruined for anyone else. She'd always taken what she wanted, and she wanted him.

She dove for his mouth, punishing him with her lips and teeth for making her question and feel. He was a complication, and she hated him for it. She rolled her hips against his, nails scratching down his back like claws. He didn't pull away though, crushing her to him as he tugged sharply at her zippers and buckles. His hands squeezed whatever flesh he could grab, digging in to the soft contours as he made his way further down. He paused making sure his gaze held hers as he tugged her pants down, underwear already missing from the first go round.

"Last chance to walk away."

She hadn't been able to walk away for a while, but her tacit nod insured she wouldn't be walking at all if Ben had his way.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I've recently fallen in love with this series super hard core, despite the fact that I don't think it was done very well. I've been working on a rewrite, but as a character study I wrote this little blurb to try to feel out the dialogue and motivations, etc. It doesn't really fit very well with anything else I've written thus far. I don't really think it will. Even if it does, it'll read quite differently in context. So! I decided to go ahead post it. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!


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